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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22550866">Stay true to yourself</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverDoesntExist/pseuds/ForeverDoesntExist'>ForeverDoesntExist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Eurovision Song Challenge [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Figure Skating RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>EurovisionSongChallenge, F/M, Sebi, Slovenia, cuteness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:13:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,448</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22550866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverDoesntExist/pseuds/ForeverDoesntExist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You don't have to prove yourself.</p>
<p>We are bound by the same tears and the same fear.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nathan Chen/Evgenia Medvedeva</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Eurovision Song Challenge [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stay true to yourself</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so the third day we have Slovenia (2019) - Zala Kralj &amp; Gašper Šantl – Sebi</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>When your thoughts are full</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You can listen to my heart beating</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>When your burden is heavy</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You can come to me</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>They met in Japan.</p>
<p>Evgenia was freezing, everyone around her seemed t be okay though. Perhaps because she was the only one wearing a tutu.</p>
<p>God, she hated the costume. It was too red, it was too short and it was a pain to skate in.</p>
<p>But her coach said it was fine.</p>
<p>Her coach always knew better.</p>
<p>She tried her best to just walk around and explore the never-ending corridors. Nobody would miss her for a few minutes anyway, and it would keep her warm.</p>
<p>She had asked for a jacket, obviously. However she was not allowed to wear one while waiting for her turn on the ice, her coach said something about showing off and how she should get used to it.</p>
<p>She needed to look proud and firm.</p>
<p>Evgenia wasn’t a child anymore.</p>
<p>Not in this sport anyway.</p>
<p>She walked past coaches and other skaters, all of them listening to their orders, to the new tactics and last-minute layout changes. Some juniors from the men’s short still remained around in order to see the ladies’ short and she wondered if they truly enjoyed the show of sparkles and tutus so different from their own competition.</p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>She stopped dead on her tracks and for a moment she considered running, even if on her skate guards just to get away. But then again, she didn’t recognize that voice. It wasn’t one of her coaches for sure.</p>
<p>Perhaps a fan?</p>
<p>She hadn’t met one alone.</p>
<p>She wasn’t allowed.</p>
<p>There were a lot of things that weren’t allowed.</p>
<p>“You okay?”</p>
<p>As Evgenia turned around, she quickly understood that it wasn’t someone from her team or even one of her rivals.</p>
<p>It was a boy. He looked so young but somehow she could sense they were somewhat close age-wise. He looked sure of himself, confident and his tone wasn’t playful or teasing.</p>
<p>He only sounded worried.</p>
<p>The jacket on his hand told her immediately what country he was skating for, despite his Asian features and suddenly her curiosity won over.</p>
<p>No American had ever been nice to her.</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“Because you are shaking.” His answer was quite simple.</p>
<p>Oh. So someone had noticed it after all.</p>
<p>
  <em>You can’t look weak.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You don’t know him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He might tell his team and they’ll make fun of you.</em>
</p>
<p>“I’m fine.”</p>
<p>The boy didn’t look very convinced and frowning he offered her his jacket. “You don’t look fine, so wear this.”</p>
<p>Evgenia wanted to tell him that the cold was the least of her problems but that would sound rude. Her mother would be disappointed.</p>
<p>“Thank you.”</p>
<p>She didn’t ask for his name, and he didn’t ask for hers.</p>
<p>Names weren’t important when you just wanted to help someone.</p>
<p>You only needed kindness in your heart.</p>
<p>“You are welcome,” the boy seemed to finally look at her costume and with an innocent smile, he told her, “You look really pretty by the way…I mean…good luck!”</p>
<p>He stumbled over his words and adorably ran away before she had any time to think about what he had said.</p>
<p>She didn’t win gold that day.</p>
<p>But suddenly, she didn’t hate her costume after all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Ask what keeps me going</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>They are achievements and distances</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Like a leaf, it goes with the wind and resists it</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>I go with the flow and resist it</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It had been 3 years since then.</p>
<p>People around her were euphoric. They shouted, they celebrated her victory.</p>
<p>She had won her second world title.</p>
<p>She had won.</p>
<p>Her team looked so happy. </p>
<p>She had won.</p>
<p>Evgenia looked around her. So many people yet she never felt so alone.</p>
<p>Why was it so cold? Se had brought her jacket this time.</p>
<p>She was being silly. Who cared about that when after all, she had a gold medal?</p>
<p>She had won.</p>
<p>But at what cost?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You don't always see stars</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Stay true to yourself</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Don't tell me I'm sorry</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Tears are in your eyes</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Let them run</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>When our desires are different</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You accept me and I accept you.</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You okay?”</p>
<p>“Oh I’m fine, just lost my chance to get on the final but I’m peachy-” she hadn’t meant to snap at whoever was behind her asking her a simple question, but at the moment she just wanted to scream or cry. Evgenia was still undecided.</p>
<p>She stopped herself from cursing the whole sport and turned around. As soon as she met the gentle brown eyes, her mind reminded her of a simple time and red tutus.</p>
<p>And a never-returned warm jacket.</p>
<p>“Sorry about that. I’m just kinda angry at myself.”</p>
<p>“That’s okay. You’ll do great at worlds!”</p>
<p>“Sure.” She didn’t mean to sound rude but she really doubted someone could be nice to her after such a failure, her brain sometimes still managed to make her believe that everything was just a plan to mock her behind her back.</p>
<p>
  <em>Nobody is actually your friend.</em>
</p>
<p>“Nathan, right?”</p>
<p>“You know who I am?”</p>
<p>Evgenia tilted her head in confusion. Everyone knew Nathan Chen.</p>
<p>“Yeah, everyone does.”</p>
<p>She swore that before they parted ways, Nathan’s eyes had slightly dimmed after their exchange.</p>
<p>Did she know who he was?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You don't always see stars</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Stay true to yourself</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Don't tell me I'm sorry</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey.” She tried her best not to spook the boy but she figured that there was no easy way to greet a sobbing person in the middle of a dim-lit corridor in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>“You…you are talking to me?”</p>
<p>Nathan looked around in order to check if she was talking to someone else and she wondered if he had hit his head during quad practice earlier.</p>
<p>“There’s literally no one else here.”</p>
<p>“Right.”</p>
<p>“What’s wrong?”</p>
<p>“My skating, that’s what’s wrong.”</p>
<p>“Hey, you just won the freaking gold medal.” She really shouldn’t be lingering around deserted corridors and American crying boys but somehow, she just couldn’t find the will to leave just yet.</p>
<p>Nathan seemed surprised as she sat down next to him as if it were completely normal for them to hang out after a competition.</p>
<p>They had done this before, but not quite.</p>
<p>“Why are you even talking to me?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Aren’t you Yuzu’s friend?”</p>
<p>“Yeah and?”</p>
<p>“Don’t you hate me? Everyone does, no matter how many medals I win.” Evgenia’s heart broke at the way Nathan’s voice cracked and his tone became more and more self-deprecating as he went on, “It’s never enough, you know.”</p>
<p>“Not everyone hates you, perhaps some fans do but listen to me.” She didn’t know where she actually found the courage to do such a thing but she pulled his face towards her and begged him to listen with her eyes, “You don’t score yourself, you don’t decide your own scores, the judges do. The system is fucked up and everyone and their mother knows it. They might be trying to push Yuzu out of the sport by inflating scores but this has nothing to do with you, okay?”</p>
<p>“I just don’t want people to hate me…”</p>
<p>
  <em>I just don’t want them to hate me.</em>
</p>
<p>She couldn’t help but watch her reflection crumble right in front of her eyes.</p>
<p>She too had been afraid of hate, afraid of failing, afraid of being a disappointment.</p>
<p>But she had found people that had taught her just how to escape the darkness.</p>
<p>Nathan would escape too.</p>
<p>“Focus on your friends and family, they know the truth. Hell, Yuzu himself is always fanboying over you back home.”</p>
<p>Home. Evgenia smiled at herself. Suddenly Canada had become her home without her knowing.</p>
<p>It felt right.</p>
<p>“Really?” The light seemed to be back on Nathan’s eyes almost immediately.</p>
<p>“Yes, Brian told him to shut up once, when he said he wanted to invite the American team for Summer Camp so he could learn your secrets without sounding suspicious.”</p>
<p>Perhaps that had been a stretch but she was sure Yuzuru wouldn’t mind.</p>
<p>He had a weak spot for her and she intended to make the most out of it.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe that but,” he held her hand and pulled her up with him, “thank you.”</p>
<p>“You are welcome, wonder boy and please don’t listen to your coach.” That didn’t sound very responsible now that she heard herself, “Okay I totally didn’t say that.”</p>
<p>He laughed and nodded, nonetheless. He knew his coach dubious antics better than anyone.</p>
<p>“Oh, by the way, aren’t you cold in that?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You don't have to prove yourself</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>We are bound by the same tears and the same fear</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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